Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to wireless digital communication and, more specifically, to a set of optimizations applicable to wireless networks operating in white space bands.
Description of the Related Art
A conventional wireless network system generally includes a collection of different nodes configured to interoperate with one another. Nodes that reside within a particular physical region may communicate with one another according to a set of channels that are available within that region. For example, if the nodes are configured to communicate on TV white space (TVWS) channels, then the nodes may exchange data with one another across any of the TVWS channels that are available within that region. A node residing within a given region may determine the available channels in that region by querying an access point for a “channel map” that specifies which channels are regionally available.
The approach described thus far is feasible in the simple network configuration described above. However, modern networks have several features that make this approach problematic. In particular, in a modern network, a node may be coupled to multiple different access points, and each access point may provide the node with a different channel map. When a conventional node is presented with conflicting information in this fashion, the node may cease to operate properly and may not be able to fully participate in the network, which could result in low data rates. In addition, modern nodes are capable of travelling between different regions that have different channel availability, and so the channel maps acquired by the node may frequently become obsolete. A given channel map may also become obsolete with time. Consequently, the node may frequently lose network connectivity.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is an improved technique for providing channel maps to devices that operate in a network.